Every August Bill O'Brien's been the head coach in Houston, his Texans have practiced against another team.
That trend will continue this August.
O'Brien spoke with the media on Tuesday morning at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, and reiterated his affinity for working against other franchises.
"I love joint practices," O'Brien said. "I wish we could joint practice all the time."
The Texans will hold their 2017 training camp at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. While he doesn't know who or when the Texans will practice against, he's certain it will happen.
"We're still in the process of figuring that out, but I know we'll do at least one team," O'Brien said.
In 2014, the Texans hosted the Falcons for a pair of practices at the Houston Methodist Training Center. They also traveled to Colorado for three days of work against the Broncos. A year later, O'Brien and company spent a few days in Richmond, Virginia at Washington's training camp. Last August, the Saints practiced in Houston, and the Texans also practiced with the 49ers in Santa Clara, California.
O'Brien explained the multiple benefits of working with other squads.
"I think that it really changes the excitement, the intensity of training camp," O'Brien said. "It allows you to see how other teams operate. It allows your scouts to look at other teams and their rosters for when that time comes that the cuts have to be made. They have an on-field evaluation. You get a lot of situational work."
The Texans begin their offseason conditioning program on April 17.
